Critical accolades follow Shane Dwight wherever he goes. Blues Revue magazine states: “Shane is a talented musician, an impressive songwriter and Dwight’s guitar playing is as substantial as his songwriting.” The San Francisco Chronicle called him “a music sensation;” Andrew Gilbert of the San Jose Mercury News said of Dwight: “Tough, lean guitar work and commanding vocals, he is a tour de force... Shane is a killer songwriter, singer, guitarist and performer... he is an artist who’s creating a soulful Americana sound.”

 

Born on the East Side of San Jose and raised on a horse ranch in Morgan Hill, California, it was a tough decision for Shane to pack up and move to Nashville some three years ago. But Shane immediately fell in love with Music City and knew it was the right decision. Within six months of living there, he quickly earned a reputation as a “guitarslinger.” The Nashville City Paper called him: “One of Music City’s prime guitar warriors… Shane Dwight’s playing and singing is consistently stellar, and frequently magnificent.” It doesn’t seem to matter what town Shane lives in or performs in, the critics always seem to agree: “He plays a mean guitar, whether he’s rocking, delving into roots, alt-country, R&B, or hitting you in the gut with searing, straight-ahead blues… he plays and sings with charisma, heart, and energy.” (Toledo Blade)

 

Eleven of the twelve songs on A Hundred White Lies are originals written by Shane.

 

A Hundred White Lies was produced by Grammy-nominated producer Kevin McKendree. The group he recorded with was “Dick 50,” better-known as Delbert McClinton’s band, featuring – in addition to McKendree on keyboards - Rob McNelley (guitar), Lynn Williams (drums) and Stephen Mackey (bass). On background vocals, he features Bekka Bramlett (daughter of Delaney & Bonnie), as well as the McCrary Sisters (Ann, Regina and Alfreda)

 

Steve Gerard & The National Debonaires will release their third CD on September 13th, this time with Jackson, Mississippi’s 71-years-young blues singer James “Rock” Gray”. Gray, a contemporary and good friend of legendary Jackson singer, drummer and harmonica man, Sam Myers (Anson Funderburgh) is now a permanent member of The National Debonaires. He’ll be featured along with the great Kansas City-based singer Dave “Elmo” Bailey.

 

“James and Mo pack a vocal punch that is really hard to beat,” says Steve Gerard. “I love singers and these two are some of the best blues singers that can be found working today. Our shows have this tremendous variety – you can dance, cry, drink, flirt, cheat and still make it home with a smile on your face.”

 

The National Debonaires first two CDs, New Sounds from Kansas City and Words Are Like Bullets on the SoundGate and Blue Edge labels, have delved into a variety of blues styles, leaning on jump and traditional style shuffles. The new CD, Voodoo Workn’, features three stunning original songs with lyrics by James and music by the band.

 

“The material on Voodoo is so cool. James has this southern gospel, blues, soul sound with a side helping of country tinge that will raise the hair on your arms.

 

The sixth annual Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival (www.crescentcitybluesfest.com) takes place Oct. 14-16 at Lafayette Square Park in New Orleans. Admission is FREE.

 

The outstanding lineup includes Shreveport guitar shredder Kenny Wayne Shepherd, legendary soul singer Bettye LaVette, R&B soul man Mel Waiters, Louisiana blues activist Tab Benoit, honky tonk piano queen Marcia Ball, sacred steel heroes The Campbell Brothers, roots supergroup the South Memphis String Band and Mississippi blues original Super Chikan, along with many others.

 

 

 There will also be dozen vendors with the greatest assemblage of home-style barbecue to be found in New Orleans. A huge crafts fair showcases the hand-made works by artisans from throughout the Gulf South. And an interview stage gives fans an opportunity to hear from our performers about their influences.

 

The festival also features a “sports bar,” where fans can keep up with all the latest action on large-screen TVs while enjoying the music. Community radio station WWOZ-FM will broadcast the festival live on the air and on the internet at wwoz.org.

 

 

 

On Friday, Oct. 14, locals and visitors will have the chance to pitch in to the rebuilding of the Crescent City, with a house-building work day organized by the St. Bernard Project.

 

There’s also a contest to submit drawings of original artwork that will be used to grace the festival’s official t-shirt.

 

For complete details, see the festival web site, www.crescentcitybluesfest.com.

 

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation (www.jazzandheritage.org), the nonprofit that owns the world-famous New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell (www.nojazzfest.com). The Foundation uses the proceeds from Jazz Fest, and other revenues, for year-round programs in education, economic development and cultural events. For info, see www.jazzandheritage.org.

 

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is sponsored in part of the Louisiana Office of Tourism. Visit LouisianaTravel.com. 

 

Little Milton was born in Inverness, Mississippi and raised in the area by local farmers and Blues musicians and soaked up all the music he heard in the area and was able to play on his guitar whatever he heard.

 

Ike Turner discovered Little Milton when he was just a teen and helped him reach a deal with Sun Records and he also recorded on Trumpet Records before setting up his own label and was able to arrange to have Chess Records handle his distribution.

 

Milton had many hits in his career including "So Mean To Me" which
hit #14 on the R&B charts, "We're Gonna Make It" which topped the charts, "Who's Cheating Who" which hit #4 and many others.

 

Check out this Blues Hall of Fame guitarist in 1995 and notice the
way he uses dynamics through this amazing 20 minute jam and never looses a bit of intensity in the music.  Beautiful.

 

Did you know that I do Custom Comic Strips and Comic Pages as gifts?

 

 

 

SunTrust Big Lick Blues Festival!
Music and eats sure to satisfy your soul!

 

WHERE:
Elmwood Park
Downtown Roanoke, VA
(Inclement weather location
Roanoke Civic Center - Special Events Center)

 

WHEN:
Saturday
October 1, 2011
2:00pm - 9:00;pm
Music All Day

 

ADMISSION:
$24.00 – Advance Ticket available online and at regional SunTrust branches.
$28.00 - Day of Show at the gate
Children 12 & Under FREE

 

 

Readmission into park will be permitted. The 2011 Line-Up is Sizzlin' Hot!
For more info: http://www.biglickblues.org/

BSC is non-profit organization dedicated to bringing music into the lives of children and young adults who are fighting cancer and other life-challenging situations.

 

We also work with musical therapists in various hospitals and clinics, and host fundraisers and benefit concerts in many cities around the country.

 

 

On August 14th, 2005, the Grand County Blues Society was performing for the Shining Stars Foundation, a local group of children fighting cancer . After the show, John Catt struck up a conversation with 17-yr-old Colin Connors, a cancer patient from Denver, about playing guitar. When John asked Colin if he had a guitar of his own, his reply was “Yeah, a beat-up, old acoustic.” John asked him if he would play an electric guitar if he had one and Colin answered, “Anything to brighten my day.”

“What color?” John asked. Colin looked at his mom, who smiled and said, “Baby blue, like his eyes.”

 

Less than a week could pass before someone donated a baby-blue Ibanez electric guitar and amp, meant for Colin – a good deed was that simple.

 

A few weeks later John received an email from a doctor, Larry McCleary, who had worked with Colin and other children with cancer for decades. His message was profound; he had seen a dramatic change in Colin’s outlook. In the weeks ahead John and the Grand County Blues Society received messages from Colin that he had found other kids his age interested in learning music . In a few months, we had 5 new kids. It was then that a community of people knew Blue Star Connection was born.

 

Guitarist Carlos Santana has earned a long list of accolades in his four-decades-long career, but now he can add a new one -- a Los Angeles school named in his honor.

 

The LA Unified school board on Tuesday approved the name "Carlos Santana Arts Academy" for what has been called Valley Region Elementary School No. 12 in the San Fernando Valley.

 

The board says the Mexican-born guitarist is a compelling role model for students both for his longstanding musical achievements and for philanthropy with his Milagro Foundation, which works to provide education and health care for children.

 

In a letter, Santana thanked the district and said he was deeply honored.

 

Carlos Humberto Santana de Barragan came from the humblest of backgrounds. He was born 1947, in Autlan de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico (where a street and public square now bear his name). His father, a virtuoso mariachi violinist, instilled a musical spirit in his son who also began playing violin at age five. Later, when the family moved north to the bustling border town of Tijuana, Carlos took up the guitar and began to absorb his first influences. Listening to the powerful American radio stations whose signals reached into Mexico, he fell under the spell of John Lee Hooker, T. Bone Walker, and B.B. King, a trinity of guitar heroes whose styles blurred the lines of blues and jazz.

 

The Santana Blues Band was formed in 1966, but by 1967, they were known simply as Santana.

 

      

 

Elwood welcomes Robbie Robertson to the program, with his solo disc, How To Become Clairvoyant, his first in ten years. The Band will be played, and Robbie’s previous solo work. Great stories ensue, about the Band, Dylan, and Robbie’s friend, Eric Clapton. (A great story about The Band’s encounter with Sonny Boy Williamson can be seen here.) Also, Winterland will be sampled. This is a four CD box set of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, live in San Francisco, recorded over three nights back in 1968. This music has never before been released. Here on the website, a chance to win a new guitar and amp, courtesy of HelloMusic.com, the cool site for musicians. Also, a handful of blues brethren have a chance to win the latest CD, Overlocked, from Jim Allchin, math whiz turned guitar whiz. Enter to win here

 

More on our radio and video streams can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 House of Blues Streaming Audio Here